Monday, August 11, 2008
Missoula
Missoula is a great town. A beautiful river, incredible mountains, great restaurants, and good people. Matt, Josh, and I were the first ones to get there, the rest of the guys stayed up north at the wedding party for a few more hours. The three of us made a classy lunch on the downtown sidewalk after checking out the venue, then walked down to the river. Its called the Clark Fork, and it eventually dumps into the Columbia River. Crystal clear water, giant crayfish, and an assortment of colorful rocks gave us several hours of enjoyment. Trout took over my brain and I ventured downtown in search of a fishing pole, later giving up and rejoining Matt and Josh at the river. When I got back they were both swimming in the cold mountain water, rinsing off some of the tour grunge. None of us had showered for several days, so it was critical that we remove some of the stink. Matt looked like a little kid digging around in the rocks, finding ones that he thought were interesting. He amassed quite a collection and had several pocket fulls when we finally left the water to meet up with the rest of the band. I can't remember how many times he said, "Hey you guys, check out this one!" It was a good day at the river.
Once everyone showed up and we packed all our gear in, we decided to go out for sushi. I'll be honest with you, I had never had sushi before, but by the time we reached the restaurant, Sean had me convinced it would be an epic, life-changing experience. To quote him, "I would give up all my vices before giving up sushi." After eating a bunch of salmon and yellow tail, I wouldn't go quite as far as him, but it was excellent. We met a nice guy that was eating with his family at the sushi bar. He bought me some sake and we challenged him to a game of "Pick the Roadie," where we asked him which of the seven of us he thought was the roadie. His first choice was Josh, which we thought was pretty funny, but then he quickly changed his mind and picked Jewell, noting that the tatoos were a dead giveaway. He said he'd come to the show later and we bid him farewell, heading back to the bar to soundcheck.
We had a lot more people at this show than in Bozeman, and it was a good, fun, dancing crowd. I think we played a pretty good show, throwing some 138 misfits covers into the mix, and bringing back Dark Hollow with a dedication to Jerry Garcia. We hadn't played that song in quite awhile, and it was pleasant to see it go over well.
As the show was drawing to a close, we still didn't have a place in Missoula to stay. Its an interesting life to be going from town to town with no idea where you will sleep or what you will do when the show is over. It can be a little intimidating, but once you accept the reality that it doesn't matter where you sleep, its exciting. I guess its a matter of how you approach the unknown. Sean got on the mic and politely enquired whether anyone in attendance would be willing to put up a band for the night. Two nice ladies and a very nice guy offered to let us crash at their place, and we all went there after the show. Many thanks to these helpful and kind folks. Some of us caught up on showers and some of us caught up on beer, but eventually everyone went to sleep.
In the morning, we wiped the sleep from our eyes and collected all our stuff. This was the end of the road for me, my last day with the tour. Reality and work called me back to the Dakotas, and I'm more than sad to have left. Those guys are probably somewhere in Oregon right now, and I'm in North Dakota. I wish I could have kept going. Perhaps next time. This has been an incredible experience, and I know the rest of the crew is still living it. Keep rockin, guys. The unknown is standing right in front of you and I'm jealous. I miss it already.
SBJ/Jesse
Once everyone showed up and we packed all our gear in, we decided to go out for sushi. I'll be honest with you, I had never had sushi before, but by the time we reached the restaurant, Sean had me convinced it would be an epic, life-changing experience. To quote him, "I would give up all my vices before giving up sushi." After eating a bunch of salmon and yellow tail, I wouldn't go quite as far as him, but it was excellent. We met a nice guy that was eating with his family at the sushi bar. He bought me some sake and we challenged him to a game of "Pick the Roadie," where we asked him which of the seven of us he thought was the roadie. His first choice was Josh, which we thought was pretty funny, but then he quickly changed his mind and picked Jewell, noting that the tatoos were a dead giveaway. He said he'd come to the show later and we bid him farewell, heading back to the bar to soundcheck.
We had a lot more people at this show than in Bozeman, and it was a good, fun, dancing crowd. I think we played a pretty good show, throwing some 138 misfits covers into the mix, and bringing back Dark Hollow with a dedication to Jerry Garcia. We hadn't played that song in quite awhile, and it was pleasant to see it go over well.
As the show was drawing to a close, we still didn't have a place in Missoula to stay. Its an interesting life to be going from town to town with no idea where you will sleep or what you will do when the show is over. It can be a little intimidating, but once you accept the reality that it doesn't matter where you sleep, its exciting. I guess its a matter of how you approach the unknown. Sean got on the mic and politely enquired whether anyone in attendance would be willing to put up a band for the night. Two nice ladies and a very nice guy offered to let us crash at their place, and we all went there after the show. Many thanks to these helpful and kind folks. Some of us caught up on showers and some of us caught up on beer, but eventually everyone went to sleep.
In the morning, we wiped the sleep from our eyes and collected all our stuff. This was the end of the road for me, my last day with the tour. Reality and work called me back to the Dakotas, and I'm more than sad to have left. Those guys are probably somewhere in Oregon right now, and I'm in North Dakota. I wish I could have kept going. Perhaps next time. This has been an incredible experience, and I know the rest of the crew is still living it. Keep rockin, guys. The unknown is standing right in front of you and I'm jealous. I miss it already.
SBJ/Jesse
